Rosa Mendes
Milena Leticia Roucka (born October 25, 1979) is a Canadian professional wrestler and former model of Czech and Costa Rican descent. She is signed to WWE, and works as Rosa Mendes on the SmackDown brand. She also competes sporadically in WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) Roucka studied business at the University of British Columbia, but left to pursue a modeling career. She won several competitions, including the 2004 Piel Dorada, and also acted in commercials. In mid-2006, Roucka participated in the 2006 edition WWE Diva Search. Despite finishing fourth, she was hired by WWE, and assigned to train in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) using the ring name 'Roucka'. On September 19, 2007, Roucka won the OVW Women's Championship, which she held for five months until February 20, 2008. The following month, Roucka transferred to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), WWE's new developmental territory. World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE In November 2008, Roucka began appearing on Raw, where she became associated with Beth Phoenix and Santino Marella. The following October, she was moved to the ECW brand and started an on-screen relationship with Zack Ryder, who she began to manage. The pair returned to the Raw brand in February 2010, and Mendes was drafted to SmackDown in April. In November, Mendes won the Queen of FCW title in FCW, and held it until February 2011. In mid-2006, Roucka participated in the auditions for the third installment of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s Diva Search Contest and reached the final eight. Roucka was eliminated on August 17, placing fourth overall in the competition. A few days after her elimination, on August 24, WWE signed her to a developmental contract, along with Maryse Ouellet and Amy Zidian, who had both also been eliminated from the competition. Developmental territories (2006–present) Roucka was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), WWE's developmental territory. She debuted as a heel (villainous character), using the ring name Roucka, and served as the valet for the Bad Kompany faction, managing the members Mike Kruel, Shawn Osborne and Eddie Craven. In early 2007, she participated in the 'Miss OVW Contest'. She was in the corner of Kruel when he defeated Boris Alexiev to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship in February. She made her in-ring debut on March 24, when she lost to Jennifer Mae. Later that night, she teamed up with Beth Phoenix, Katie Lea and Melody in a losing effort to the team of ODB, Serena, Victoria Crawford, and Maryse.Throughout mid-2007, she competed against wrestlers including Crawford, Phoenix, Lea, and ODB. In June, Roucka unsuccessfully challenged ODB for the OVW Women's Championship. Three months later, on September 19, Roucka won a six-way match to capture the OVW Women's Championship. After winning the championship, she began to feud with Lea, defeating her in non-title matches on several occasions. In November, Lea and Atlas DaBone defeated Roucka and Kruel in a mixed tag team match. At the television tapings on December 12, she defeated Lea in a "kiss my foot match" to retain the championship. In January 2008, Lea defeated Roucka in a non-title match. In early February, WWE decided to no longer use OVW as a developmental territory.[11] After holding the championship for five months, Roucka lost it to Lea on February 20. Roucka's final OVW appearance was on February 29, where she teamed with Josie in a loss to Melody and Reggie. In March 2008, she debuted for Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), WWE's new developmental territory, by teaming with Nikki Bella in a loss to Natalya and Victoria Crawford. The following month, Roucka began feuding with The Bella Twins, which continued throughout mid-2008. In June, Roucka and Brad Allen defeated Brianna Bella and Lupo Martinez in a mixed tag team match, and in July Roucka and Allen defeated Johnny Curtis and Brianna. This was the beginning of an association with Allen, and Roucka began managing him. In August, she allied herself with Alicia Fox and Daisy and continued to feud with The Bellas, who had joined forces with Tiffany. She continued to compete in FCW throughout the remainder of the year, wrestling against Fox, Daisy, and Miss Angela. In January 2009, Roucka changed her ring name to 'Rosa Mendes', following her debut on Raw under that name. After Angela was crowned the Queen of FCW in February, Mendes immediately began to feud with her over the crown, attacking Angela on several occasions. She teamed with Kaleb O'Neal and Lawrence Knight in a loss to Eric Escobar, Sweet Papi Sanchez and Angela in a six-person mixed tag team match, and later lost to Angela in a singles match. Mendes gained a measure of revenge in a rematch in June, when she defeated Angela. During this time, she had become associated with FCW General Manager Abraham Washington, appearing alongside him on several occasions. Throughout late 2009 and most of 2010, she appeared only sporadically in FCW. In November 2010, Mendes unsuccessfully challenged Naomi for the FCW Divas Championship at a house show. Later that month, at the November 25 television tapings, Mendes defeated AJ for the Queen of FCW title. She lost the title to Aksana on February 3, 2011. Association with Beth Phoenix (2008–2009) Category:Divas Category:Smackdown Superstars